Dexmedetomidine reduces duration of mechanical ventilation in patients with sepsis: Study

Written By : Dr. Shravani Dali |Medically Reviewed By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2022-02-09T09:00:42+05:30 | Updated On 9 Feb 2022 11:59 AM IST

Dexmedetomidine was associated with the reduced duration of mechanical ventilation and inflammatory response in mechanically ventilated patients with sepsis, according to a study published in the Frontiers of Medicine.

Dexmedetomidine has been shown to improve clinical outcomes in critically ill patients. However, its effect on septic patients remains controversial. Therefore, the purpose of this meta-analysis was to assess the effect of dexmedetomidine as a sedative agent for mechanically ventilated patients with sepsis.

Researchers searched PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane Library from inception through May 2021 for randomized controlled trials that enrolled mechanically ventilated, adult septic patients comparing dexmedetomidine with other sedatives or placebo.

The Results are:

A total of nine studies involving 1,134 patients were included in our meta-analysis. The overall mortality (RR 0.97, 95%CI 0.82 to 1.13, P = 0.67, I2 = 25%), length of intensive care unit stay (MD −1.12, 95%CI −2.89 to 0.64, P = 0.21, I2 = 71%), incidence of delirium (RR 0.95, 95%CI 0.72 to 1.25, P = 0.70, I2 = 0%), and delirium free days (MD 1.76, 95%CI –0.94 to 4.47, P = 0.20, I2 = 80%) were not significantly different between dexmedetomidine and other sedative agents. Alternatively, the use of dexmedetomidine was associated with a significant reduction in the duration of mechanical ventilation (MD –0.53, 95%CI −0.85 to −0.21, P = 0.001, I2 = 0%) and inflammatory response (TNF-α: MD −5.27, 95%CI −7.99 to −2.54, P<0.001, I2 = 0%; IL-1β: MD −1.25, 95%CI −1.91 to –0.59, P<0.001, I2 = 0%).

Thus, for patients with sepsis, the use of dexmedetomidine as compared with other sedative agents does not affect all-cause mortality, length of intensive care unit stay, the incidence of delirium, and delirium-free days. But the dexmedetomidine was associated with the reduced duration of mechanical ventilation and inflammatory response.

Reference:

The Effect of Dexmedetomidine as a Sedative Agent for Mechanically Ventilated Patients With Sepsis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis by Caimu Wang et al. published in the Frontiers of Medicine.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmed.2021.776882/full

Frontiers of MedicineDexmedetomidinesepsis patientsMechanically Ventilated Patients

Source : Frontiers of Medicine

Dr. Shravani Dali

Dr. Shravani Dali has completed her BDS from Pravara institute of medical sciences, loni. Following which she extensively worked in the healthcare sector for 2+ years. She has been actively involved in writing blogs in field of health and wellness. Currently she is pursuing her Masters of public health-health administration from Tata institute of social sciences. She can be contacted at editorial@medicaldialogues.in.

Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751